Free Rider Problem

Abstract A free rider is someone who gains the benefit of a collective or public good without contributing to the cost of its provision. The term was introduced to social scientists by Mancur Olson'sThe Logic of Collective Action, which argued that the problem of motivating collective action is equivalent to the problem of motivating private contributions to a public or shared good. Olson's use of the term is structural: a person is a free rider if they benefit from a public good without contributing to it, regardless of their awareness of the possibility of contributing. A more restricted meaning refers to conscious free‐riding, in which a person prefers to benefit from the actions of others.